Help Siwook Apply for Green Card

Tl;dr: Applying for permanent residency. It costs ~$6,000 (* costs include 3.5k in legal help-see below for detail). Plz help.

Hi friends, family, and foes.

It was nearly a decade ago that I set foot in this country. Since then, I have been building my life up, brick by brick. But the entire time I have been building, I was also painfully aware that the only thing holding up those bricks was this flimsy piece of paper – an F1 student visa.

Looking back, I am immensely proud of the friends I have made, the mistakes I learned from, the communities I took part in, the risks I have taken, and the troubles I have raised. In a way, I am even prouder precisely because I have built my life despite the uncertainty.

But uncertainty gets old.

It claws at you, from the back of your head, ever so quietly.

It is unsettling, knowing that in the eye of the state, I am a visitor at a place where I have spent my entire adulthood.

Now I have a chance to build a bit more solid foundation.

I am applying for US permanent residency (a.k.a Green Card). While it is not a foolproof guarantee of my stay here, it is a step in the right direction, and one desperately needed right now.

As is the case in many US things, it costs a lot of money. I would need about $6,000 total for the entire process*. I will provide the cost breakdown below. I have learned enough in the past decade to know when to ask for help. It would mean a great deal if you could help me out. If you are not at a place where you can contribute financially, no need to worry- I still appreciate your friendship and helping me become the person I am today.

Thank you,

-Siwook

Cost breakdown:

I-485 form filing fee: $1,140

I-485 biometrics fee: $85

I-130 form filing fee: $535

Medical exam fee: ~$600

Lawyer fee*: $3,500

Lawyer consultation fee: $150

TOTAL: $6,010

*= Q) Why are you using expensive legal help for a simple process that some people do by themselves?

A) I have a hard deadline (a few more months than the mean processing time for I-130 + I-485 concurrent filing) and under the current circumstances have no other recourses that can extend my stay (e.g. H1B, F-1 OPT, etc). I cannot discuss what would happen in case of a delay (which I acknowledge is unlikely), but it would mean a multi-year endeavor during which my life and career will be on the ice.

Plus, there is a lot of stuff from the Korean end that I have to handle myself (extending the duration of my absence from the country via the Korean Military so that I may renew my passport by visiting a Korean consulate in person, etc).

At the same time, I am trying to finish up my PhD in the next year and a half to which I would like to devote most, if not all, of my time and energy. Hiring legal help allows me to focus on these things while minimizing the risks of any delay that a simple error may cause.

Hope that answers folks' questions!